The Five Dynasties

The Five Dynasties comprised a string of dynasties in northern China that succeeded one another from 907 to 960. They bridge the time from which the Tang Dynasty fell in 907 to the rise of the Song Dynasty in 960, which eventually conquered all but the very northernmost reaches of China.

The Five Dynasties are the Later Liang, Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han, and Later Zhou.

Xue Juzheng

Xue Juzheng (912–981) lived through all five of the Five Dynasties and received his jinshi examination degree under the Later Tang. He then continued to hold office through the three subsequent dynasties. He took service with the Song Dynasty when it established itself in northern China in 960.

Purpose

The primary purpose of The Five Dynasties History was to establish the claim of the Song Dynasty to the Mandate of Heaven, essentially the divine right to rule the Chinese realm. The Song Dynasty took over control of northern China from the last of the Five Dynasties, the Later Zhou. From there, they conquered southern China to eventually rule all but the northern fringe of China known as the Sixteen Prefectures, which was under the control of the Khitan Liao Dynasty. Xue sought to establish the claim of the Song Dynasty to the Mandate of Heaven through the succession of the Five Dynasties.

Xue argued that as each of these five dynasties controlled the traditional heart of China and held territory vastly larger than any of the kingdoms to the south, the Mandate naturally flowed through these dynasties.

Issues

In establishing the path of the Mandate through from the Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty through the Five Dynasties, there are several issues that Xue Zhucheng had to address. The first of these was the brutality exercised by the Later Liang, the first of the five dynasties. Zhu Wen's brutality led many to want to exclude that dynasty from the Mandate of Heaven due to the requirement that the leader work with benevolence.

Another issue had to do with the middle three, the Later Tang, Later Jin, and Later Han respectively. None of these were Han Chinese ruled dynasties, but were led by Shato.

The final major hurdle was related to the ability to rule all of China. While each of these five dynasties held more territory than any of the other Chinese polities of the era, none of them had a realistic chance of conquering the southern kingdoms and uniting the entire realm.

Legacy

Xue's work provides valuable historical information regarding the Five Dynasties that ruled most of northern China from 907 to 960, relied on by historians today for much of what is known about this period of Chinese history.

However, another legacy of the book is the use of official histories to strengthen claims to the Mandate of Heaven, including the bending of historical fact to suit the needs of the patron dynasty. Although this was not the first instance of distorting history to legitimize ruling claims (both within and outside China), the work strengthened this trend in Chinese history.

In addition, the book was used to legitimize foreign dynasties, which set up the justification for later conquest dynasties that would control much of China's destiny for most of the next millennium.